Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2025 - PHIL 467W D100

Advanced Seminar (4)

Anger, Revenge, Forgiveness

Class Number: 6962

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2025: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    15 upper division PHIL units or permission from the instructor. Students not in a philosophy major, philosophy honours, or joint major program can take PHIL 467W only with special permission from the instructor.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An advanced, in-depth seminar on a contemporary or historical philosophical topic. Required for all students in a philosophy major, philosophy honours, or joint major program. May be repeated for credit. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

Selected Topics: Anger, Revenge, Forgiveness

“Anger is loaded with information and energy,” says Audre Lorde, in her essay “The Uses of Anger.” Martha Nussbaum, on the other hand, has argued that if “we think closely about anger, we can begin to see why it is a stupid way to run one’s life.” Fascination with, and ambivalence about, anger reaches back to the dawn of Western literature with the Iliad, whose first word—and main theme—is the “rage” of Achilles. In this course we will consider contrasting views of the nature and value of anger, and of two possible ways of dealing with one’s anger: revenge and forgiveness. Is anger ever justified, or is there always (as Nussbaum urges) a more constructive response? What is the relationship between anger and revenge? Is there ever any value in revenge, or should the urge to seek revenge always be resisted? Conversely, is forgiveness ever, or perhaps even always, the best response to anger? Must forgiving mean forgoing revenge? We will explore these and related questions, drawing on a range of classical and contemporary philosophical sources as well as literary and artistic treatments of anger, revenge, and forgiveness.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

This course will be applied towards the upper division Writing Requirement for philosophy majors, philosophy honours, and philosophy joint majors. All students declared in one of these programs starting with Fall 2024 have to take an offering of PHIL 467W as a required course. Students declared before Fall 2024 can take any 400 level course (at least 1 is required) - but make sure you also have an upper division PHIL W course. Starting with Fall 2025, the only such courses are PHIL 345W and PHIL 467W.

Grading

  • Weekly short writing exercises and in-class participation 20%
  • Provision of peer feedback on term paper drafts 10%
  • Final term paper, with revisions 70%

NOTES:

Written work for this course will be submitted via Turnitin, a third party service licensed for use by SFU. Turnitin is used for originality checking to help detect plagiarism. Students will be required to create an account with Turnitin, and to submit their work via that account, on the terms stipulated in the agreement between the student and Turnitin. This agreement includes the retention of your submitted work as part of the Turnitin database. Any student with a concern about using the Turnitin service may opt to use an anonymous identity in their interactions with Turnitin. Students who do not intend to use Turnitin in the standard manner must notify the instructor at least two weeks in advance of any submission deadline. In particular, it is the responsibility of any student using the anonymous option (i.e. false name and temporary e-mail address created for the purpose) to inform the instructor such that the instructor can match up the anonymous identity with the student.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All readings will be made available on Canvas.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

Thinking of a Philosophy Major or Minor? The Concentration in Law and Philosophy? The Certificate in Ethics? The Philosophy and Methodology of Science Certificate?
Contact the PHIL Advisor at philcomm@sfu.ca   More details on our website: SFU Philosophy

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.